Description
The sale of local government-owned land or asset to provide immediate, up-front finance for infrastructure development.
Instrument category
Municipal own source revenue (OSR) and policy steering instruments
Implementation status
Low - limited evidence available
Enabling conditions and success factors
- Land sales require a trusted and coherent legal framework, strong institutions and clearly defined and enforceable property rights.
Instrument benefits
- Immediate but a non-renewable source of revenue for regional and local governments.
- Auction-based land sales can be particularly effective in countries lacking systematic land valuation.
Challenges and risks to implementation
- Land and asset sales can only be carried out once, so there is a risk that local governments miss the opportunity to capitalise on them in more sustainable ways, such as via leasing or land readjustment.
